From today's featured article
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 Hiram Wesley Evans (1881–1966) was Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, an American white supremacist group, from 1922 to 1939. Evans, a dentist, joined the Klan's Dallas chapter in 1920. He quickly rose through the ranks and, after ousting William J. Simmons as Imperial Wizard, sought to transform the group into a political juggernaut. Although Evans had kidnapped and tortured a black man while leader of the Dallas Klan, as Imperial Wizard he publicly discouraged vigilante actions. He also led major gatherings and marches, endorsed several successful candidates in state elections, and promoted the Klan as a nativist, Protestant group. Despite these efforts, the Klan was buffeted by damaging publicity in the early 1920s, and the Great Depression of the 1930s severely damaged the Klan's finances and Evans' own income. In 1939 Evans, having lost favor within the Klan for disavowing anti-Catholicism, was succeeded by James A. Colescott; the following year he was fined $15,000 for price fixing. Historians credit Evans with refocusing the Klan on political activities and recruiting outside the Southern United States but note that the political influence and membership gained were transitory. (Full article...)
Recently featured: Laura Secord – Plunketts Creek Bridge No. 3 – Ezra Meeker
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Did you know...
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In the news
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- In sports car racing, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, won by Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Loïc Duval, is marred by the death of Allan Simonsen.
- Flooding in Alberta, Canada, results in at least three deaths and the evacuation of thousands (central Calgary pictured).
- Flash floods and landslides in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh in India kill more than 550 people and trap thousands.
- In basketball, the Miami Heat defeat the San Antonio Spurs to win the NBA Finals.
- Smoke from slash-and-burn cultivation in Indonesia causes the worst haze ever recorded in Singapore.
- Protests, initially against rising public transportation fares, intensify across Brazil, with demonstrations in dozens of cities.
Recent deaths: James Gandolfini – Slim Whitman
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On this day...
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June 24: Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Christianity); Day of the Holy Spirit (Eastern Christianity, 2013); National Holiday/Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day in Quebec, Canada
- 1571 – Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi established a council to govern the city of Manila, now the capital of the Philippines.
- 1717 – The first Masonic Grand Lodge, the Premier Grand Lodge of England, was founded in London.
- 1880 – "O Canada" (audio featured), today the national anthem of Canada, was first performed in Quebec City, Quebec, during a Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day banquet.
- 1937 – The United States' first two "fast battleships", the North Carolina class, were ordered from the New York and Philadelphia Naval Shipyards.
- 1994 – A United States Air Force B-52 Stratofortress based at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane County, Washington, crashed, killing all four crew members, and later providing a case study on the importance of compliance with safety regulations.
More anniversaries: June 23 – June 24 – June 25
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